Finished

The well project is complete! The community placed the concrete pad and Douglas and Yader returned to install the pump.

Home Safe!

The team had an early start today, catching the 5:00 AM shuttle to the airport in Managua. We arrived in Houston just before lunchtime and said goodbye to Ian, Karolyn, Molly, and Sarah. The last two segments of our flight home were mostly uneventful, though we did have to dodge a few thunderstorms. We arrived back home in Asheville just after 11 PM.

We enjoyed sharing the highlights of our experience with you through this blog and hope that you enjoyed following our progress. We'd love to share more of the details and our personal perspectives with you... just ask when you see us.

We would encourage you to prayerfully consider participating on a missions trip in the future. It can be a truly transformational experience. Thank you again for your prayers!

Downtime

We spent last night and today at the Hotel Express in Managua. Today is Liberation Day in Nicaragua, commemorated much like we celebrate Independence Day in the US. The streets are very crowded, and Douglas asked that we stay at the hotel or the adjacent shopping mall. So we spent today shopping, reading, sitting by (or in) the pool, packing, and generally reflecting on the experience we enjoyed this week.

We're anxious to share the details of our experience with you, but for now suffice it to say that we all tremendously enjoyed the opportunity to be here. Some of our favorite things, in no particular order:

• starting each day with devotions
• morning prayers in El Platanal
• Douglas, our lead driller, and Hacknier, our hygiene coordinator
• good conversation with team members over meals
• the warmth and hospitality of our brothers and sisters in the community
• the wonderful food prepared by the ladies at the compound in Leon
• the children
• our brothers and sisters on the team

Tomorrow is our travel day, and we're looking forward to returning home to family and friends. While it's hard to leave, we take comfort in knowing that a wonderful community of Nicaraguan brothers and sisters will be thinking of us and praying for us, and we for them.

Speaking of which, we can't thank you enough for your financial support and prayers. Please take a moment to pray for our safe travel... we'll see you soon.

In God's Time

We began this morning with music from Kimberly and Jason, followed by our devotions. We enjoyed yet another terrific breakfast, then headed back to the community.

The pastor led us in our morning prayer, and it was as powerful as ever. It's difficult to describe the style of community prayer in Latin America, but it's something very special... one of those things you simply have to experience first hand (gentle nudge)!

The well is producing plenty of water, but it was still a bit too cloudy. We placed a submersible electric pump in the well to continue flushing it, and took advantage of the downtime to interact with members of the community, and play with the kids.

The water became clear by late morning, but unfortunately we have a schedule that didn't permit us to stick around for the placement of the concrete pad and pump. We're a little disappointed that we won't get to see it all the way through, but delighted that God was able to use us to bring His water to the surface for the community. We know that God's timing is always perfect, even if it isn't always in sync with our schedule.

Douglas will return one day next week to assist with the placement of the concrete pad and installation of the pump. Interestingly, the church in the community will celebrate its first birthday on Tuesday, and what a nice gift this will be. Douglas promised to send a picture of the completed well, and we'll add it to the blog then.

We enjoyed a terrific farewell full of gratitude, love, and a few tears. It's amazing that we were all strangers to each other on Monday morning, but we departed on Thursday with the sense that we were leaving family. We returned to the compound for lunch cooked by the wonderful staff, and then departed for Managua.

God's Work Continues

Today began with music from Kimberly followed by morning devotions and then another great home-cooked breakfast. Afterwards, we headed back to our community and began the work day with a prayer by 'la pastora'.

The drill team resumed its efforts to develop the well. This is a two-part process that starts with pumping water into the well to flush remnants of the drilling mud from the screen. The second part of the process uses compressed air to flush water from the well which helps to flush the drilling mud out  of the well.

The hygiene team continued their meetings with the women and children of the community. This included a class on how to operate and maintain the well, and how to ensure that it remains sanitary. The craft project was small handmade boxes and butterflies. The women also enjoyed a special time together, during which each shared their testimony with the others.

The women of the community spent the morning making lunch for us today, a traditional Nicaraguan soup made with VERY fresh chicken, potatoes, cabbage, plantains, squash, and what might be described as a cornbread dumpling. We were also treated to yummy fresh tortillas!

Jim and Don have each given serious consideration to bringing back one of the beautiful children here, though neither has discussed the idea with the parents just yet.

We had our first rain today, but it came late in the day and didn't delay our work. We packed up the van, and after getting cleaned up, Douglas' wife joined us for dinner at the beach. We took the short drive to the Pacific Ocean and enjoyed dinner listening to the waves crash and watching the lightning against the night sky. Thank you for continuing to pray!

Tuesday

This is Tuesday's entry, which we weren't able to publish until today due to a problem with our internet. 

We began this morning with devotions, followed by another terrific breakfast. Upon arriving at the community, the pastor led us in another very spirited and emotional prayer. It's interesting to note that most of us find this moment to be our favorite part of the day. After giving thanks to God, we returned to work.

The hygiene team met again with the women and children of the village to discuss cleanliness and water safety, basic nutrition, components of a healthy meal, and the importance of hydration. During crafts time, the kids made teeth hand puppets and the adults made bracelets with their names. The Bible story was the story of the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well.

As the drill team installed the casing, we encountered an obstruction at 95 feet which indicated that a lower section of the well had collapsed. We took a break to ask for God's direction before resuming. We worked on the casing some more, but it became clear that this was the correct depth for the well. We spent the afternoon developing the well.

After a wonderful dinner, Douglas took us into Leon for some shopping, sight-seeing and ice cream. We visited the central square with its market, where Jason and Kimberly displayed their negotiating skills and contributed to the Nicaraguan economy!

God's Work

We began this morning with songs of worship and devotions. After a hearty Nicaraguan breakfast provided by our hosts, we headed out to the community of El Platanal, just north of Leon, with about 300 residents. We were received with great love and enthusiasm by many of the villagers and we prayed with them that God would bless our efforts.

We drilled to 110 ft and encountered what appears to be a good aquifer. One of the pumps gave out after lunch, but otherwise the drilling went very well. The hygiene team met with the ladies of the community for basic sanitation lessons, including hand washing, germs, and food safety, then met with the children in the afternoon for lessons and crafts. They also had a Bible story from John 21: 1-14.  The toys that we brought were a big hit with the kids (and a few of the adults!)

The evening brought another delicious meal, followed by what we've decided must be the longest Nicaraguan Uno game on record. Don says he's not gloating, but insisted we note that he was the winner! We're all looking forward to continuing our work in the community tomorrow morning. We are grateful for your continued prayers.